Rasner = Good, Bullpen = Bad

At least that was the story yesterday afternoon when the Yankees fell to the Orioles, losing by a score of 6-to-1. The first 5 innings were scoreless and Rasner pitched great. He left after 6 innings, having thrown 98 pitches (68 of them strikes), and was only responsible for one run. Then came LaTroy Hawkins... he only lasted .2 of an inning but managed to give up 2 hits and 3 runs. Veras didn't do much better with 2 hits and 2 runs.

Bullpens will give away games from time to time and although it bothers me, I can deal with that. What I don't understand is why Cashman hasn't done anything to put a lefty in the Yankees hand. They haven't had much luck in this area. Mike Meyers did little for the team last year and neither did Billy Traber. I would put this transaction on the top of my to-do list.

I was reading Greg Cohen's blog this morning and he posed an interesting question: why do we need both Duncan and Ensberg on the active roster? Neither of them are performing and it seemingly makes more sense to move one of them down to make room for someone else. Brett Gardner is the quick answer for a replacement. Clearly, the second thing on my list would be to strengthen the bench.

I am hoping that yesterday's game was just an anomaly and that New York can take the next two games against Baltimore to capture the series and stir some movement in the standings. Tonight's game starts at 7:05pm with Ian Kennedy on the mound. I am cautiously optimistic.